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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24081355">TOKYO☆KICK-ASS</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/diluc/pseuds/diluc'>diluc</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crossover, Dialogue Heavy, Gameplay Techniques, Gen, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 21:19:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,040</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24081355</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/diluc/pseuds/diluc</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Don’t worry, Mister!” a cheerful girl screeches from a red, electric golf cart. Her bottled blonde hair gets in her face, albeit she dons a strange visor on her eyes; another girl driving the machine wears a strange, spiked gas mask, and a boy - the one who said something about Mementos, no less - has shades and a bizarre neon baseball cap on. “We’re gonna save you! Just hop on, and we’ll kill all the beasts for you! Just watch me!”<br/>Ken honestly feels this was a fever dream. “No, don’t endanger yourselves.”</p><p>In which Amada Ken, a simple college student in Tokyo, gets dragged into more Persona-user shenanigans after ten years of a peaceful life.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Background Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Background Aragaki Shinjiro/Sanada Akihiko, Background Hanamura Yosuke/Narukami Yu</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>TOKYO☆KICK-ASS</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tokyo trains were so bustling, not to mention the streets - it made Ken remember the stillness of Tatsumi Port Island and Iwatodai dorms, the never-ending Hell that was Tartarus, the thrill of revenge and of the kill, and how it slowly faded into numbness…</p><p>Alas, he is in university now, a simple detective trainee. It’s probably for the best, he thinks, as he gets off of the train on Aoyama-Itchome in order to transfer to Otemachi; ever since Akihiko went back to college in Tokyo six years ago, the four of them - that is, Sanada himself, Shinjiro, Ken, and Koromaru - moved into a small apartment. The two jobs of his caretakers seemed to cover the rent just fine, and Koromaru, although growing older, was still a rather active dog. With SEES and Nyx behind him, Ken supposed a clean start fit everyone well.</p><p>A while ago he freed himself of the shackles that were living with Akihiko and Shinjiro. Granted, it wasn’t all bad - he got help with homework, free meals and a rather nice living environment, - and yet sometimes, his senpais were just too overprotective of him. (He was truly lucky Shinjiro didn’t stay over at his place last night; the first year he moved out, daily check-ups and meals were sometimes inevitable.) Koromaru stayed with him by his own wish, or so translated Aigis; when Ken left, the dog had been sleeping in his special pet bed.</p><p>(“Be a good old man, awright, Koro-chan?” he has whispered, only for the dog to squeal through his slumber as a response.)</p><p>He opened up his phone, and the IM app lit up immediately. It read:</p><p><b>From: Matsunaga Ayane (10:28 a.m.)</b><br/>Amada-kun, we’re meeting up in Otemachi, right?</p><p>He responds: </p><p><b>From: Amada Ken (10:28 a.m)</b><br/>That’s right. See you there, Matsuyane.</p><p>Getting off the train, he stretched his back. He’d just wanted to visit a library with a friend from his college, seeing as how today was Sunday and his senpais temporarily left back to Port Island. Yawning, he fumbled his bag for his student ID, until-</p><p><em> You have arrived in Mementos. </em><br/>What the hell?<br/>Looking around, the world seemed to shift and shake rapidly; Ken tried his best to hold his head up, and yet he knew something was wrong. He sensed something; something was incoming, a threat he had forgotten of, one he had the faintest notion of. <em> Shadows, </em> he thinks. God damn it - weren’t they destroyed with the Dark Hour? Wasn’t his Persona, too? And even if he has to fight them, he is completely unarmed - he has neither a lance nor an evoker. So what does he do?</p><p>“Shit, there’s- someone got dragged into Mementos with us!” a youthful voice screams out from somewhere; what was just the Chiyoda Ward had seemingly become a distortion, with the lights dim and the sky red. There seems not to be much beyond the train station entrance; where people had just stood, they disappeared, a vague hollowness in their wake. This reminded him somewhat of Tartarus, although he was unsure where exactly Shadows dwelled here. If he took Koromaru with him, maybe the dog would lead him somewhere…</p><p>“Don’t worry, Mister!” a cheerful girl screeches from a red, electric golf cart. Her bottled blonde hair gets in her face, albeit she dons a strange visor on her eyes; another girl driving the machine wears a strange, spiked gas mask, and a boy - the one who said something about Mementos, no less - has shades and a bizarre neon baseball cap on. “We’re gonna save you! Just hop on, and we’ll kill all the beasts for you! Just watch me!”</p><p>Ken honestly feels this was a fever dream. “No, don’t endanger yourselves.” if it wasn’t, he thought, he should probably bring up something about Shadows, anyways. At best, they will provide information; at worst, they will think him another lunatic in Tokyo. “Is… are there any Shadows nearby, by any chance?” Ken sniffed, - <em> damn, did I get this stupid habit from Koro-chan? - </em>and felt a presence resembling that of a Shadow. (That must have been similar to Lucia’s powers… he just reminded himself to call Fuuka up about this.)</p><p>The kid driving gasps, “So… you know about this world? The Shadows and Personas, and everything?” She takes a sharp curve to the left, and Amada tries his best not to fall off.<br/>“Nanako-chan! I, I thought we weren’t supposed to talk about this with others?”<br/>“For once, Oohashi’s right!”<br/>The gas mask girl - Nanako, it seems, - kept driving through the deserted and abstract streets of Chiyoda, “Shinya, please don’t be like this. And Maiko-chan… I sense a kindness from him. I think he’s nice, kinda like my big bro.”</p><p>“I’m, egh,” <em> I’m carsick, </em> he wants to say, but it comes out like this: “I’m Amada Ken… A senior in Hosei University. Who are you children?”<br/>“Dojima Nanako,” the gas mask girl breathes out, speeding past what looked vaguely like monsters or, worst off, Shadows. “The girl on your right is Oohashi Maiko. The boy is Oda Shinya. We all go to Shujin High.”<br/>“You know, I’m not a Tokyo native,” Oohashi drawled out, seemingly talkative, “I come from Tatsumi Port Island, actually!”<br/>“P-Port Island?” Ken’s eyes widen momentarily, “Uh… did you happen to know a certain Shiomi Kotone?”<br/>“Oh yeah, Kotomin! She played with me near Naganaki, I miss her everyday, haha! Do you know her?”<br/>“We lived in the same dorm,” he nods; his head feels airtight like one of Akihiko’s fridge bags - he must have tied his hair too tight, he thinks. “More importantly, you mentioned something about… ergh… memes?”</p><p>Oda scoffed, putting his head through the window like a dog would, “It’s <em>Mementos</em>. Since our leader let us talk to you about this…” Ken recognizes the words on his cap now: it reads <em> TRUE GMRZ, </em> “...we basically fight off monsters and save Tokyo!”<br/>Nanako keeps driving. “I truly doubt anyone incapable of summoning a Persona would stand a chance to simply loiter around Mementos like Amada-san has, so he might have some potential.”<br/>Wait. Did he hear them right? Were they talking about Personas? </p><p>“So, do you guys have evokers?” he asks innocently, and a comic silence booms through the golf cart. “Like, y’know. These guns that you point to your head - then you pull the trigger and your Persona comes out.”</p><p>“Mister, are you on crack?”<br/>“Nah, Oohashi. He’s on weed.”<br/>“That’s even worse!”</p><p>Ken bites his lip; he’s already talked too much of Personas and whatnot, and revealing the truth behind the Dark Hour and Apathy Syndrome, no matter how appealing, will not be tolerated until he knows more about these children. If their ranks are worth infiltrating, he might even contact the Kirijo Group; although he doubts Shinji or Aki would like this. </p><p>Nanako gulps, the sound reverberating; she hits the brakes, and everyone almost comes flying to the front seats. “Get ready to fight, everyone. We’re surrounded.”</p><p>Around them, about four Shadows spring out of the void. <em> What kind of amateurs, </em> Ken ponders, <em> can’t handle some four foes? </em> He decides not to voice the idea, and instead looks around. “Do you have anything distinctively shaped like a gun?” Evokers were not actual pistols, so models would work here, too, thought Ken.<br/>Oda throws him some worn, but rather realistic-looking toy pistol. “I won this at an arcade. Also, you better not be on weed or crack.”</p><p>Ken nods, and in a moment everyone jumps right out of their golf cart. The gun, he thinks, isn’t anything remotely foolproof; besides, he hasn’t summoned his Persona in some ten years, after all! He puts it to his head, ready to shoot, and he doesn’t feel afraid at all, for whatever reason. He does think he would be mortified beyond release if nothing happens now, though. </p><p>“Kala-Nemi!” </p><p>His Persona springs forth, a magnificently opaque beast it used to be back in elementary school. Ken finds himself smiling, unaware of the sudden endorphin release this has brought; around him, the kids all gasp in what he only wishes to be fascination. Evidently, it is - Oohashi’s eyes shine, while Oda and Dojima just smirk mirthfully. “Let’s get ‘em.”</p><p>“Aye-aye, Mister,” Shinya bellows before taking his pretentious shades off, “Yemelyan!”<br/>Oda’s Persona materializes, a humanoid warrior dressed in both furs and armor, a hatchet in its glove. </p><p>“Don’t go off without us! Astraea!” Maiko throws the visor away, freeing her eyesight, and it seems the manifestation of her Persona appears. An opaque lilac, it resembles a human female; albeit, two golden horns spur high from its head and curl downwards into a necklace of sorts.</p><p>At last, Nanako throws her mask away and shouts, “Kore!”</p><p>With the party assembled, Ken huffs. “This’ll be fun. Do you guys have a navigator or something?”<br/>They all seem appalled. “A navigator?”<br/>“Yeah. Y’know, to scan the Shadows, their weaknesses, and to help you consider a strategy.” they simply frown, mouth agape; he exhales loudly. How did <em> he </em>wind up the babysitter, is that karma for being the youngest in SEES? “I guess not, huh. I’ll help you analyze the enemy, then.”</p><p>They nod; Shinya starts off, ordering Yemelyan to Bash the first enemy, and in spite of its accuracy, Ken sees the Shadow didn’t take much damage. Its shape seems somewhat familiar… “Oda, it didn’t work. Try using elemental attacks.”<br/>Oohashi casts a Marin Karin on another enemy, and <em> damn </em> that brings Ken flashbacks of Mitsuru’s strategies. Thankfully, the spell hits just right - one of the foes just pierced its own teammate. Amada sighs with relief.<br/>Dojima commands Kore to use Bufu - and the Shadows are caught off guard. The young man gives a toothy smirk in response and hollers, “Dojima! Don’t stop-- keep it going!”</p><p>She nods at him, eyes determined, and strikes down all the foes with Ice spells. Maiko speaks up, “C’mon! They’re all off their feet!”<br/>“It’s time for an All-Out Attack,” Ken grins, “Let’s get them!”</p><p>And in no time, the Shadows fade back into the emptiness they came from. Amada wipes the sweat off his brow: not only was he worried for these random kids (although begrudgingly), but he also hadn’t partaken in missions since the tender age of eleven. </p><p>Shinya smiles a little. “We should get outta here. I’m hungry.”<br/>“Ta-ko-ya-ki!” Maiko jumps up and down like an excited child would, "ta-ko-ya-ki! Or Mad Bull!”<br/>“Maiko-chan,” Dojima speaks shyly, “I don’t think many takoyaki stalls are operating in Chiyoda.”<br/>“Shit, I missed a study session.” Ken hides his face in his hands, and only then decides to be the responsible adult of the group. “Anyways, I know a nice place in Yongen if you guys are hungry.”</p><p> </p><p><b>From: Matsunaga Ayane (11:01 a.m.)</b><br/>Im so sorry i dont think i can come!!!!!! Theres some delays in shibuya</p><p><b>From: Amada Ken (11:30 a.m.)</b><br/>Don’t sweat it. I got caught up in a tussle on my way here anyways, so I would’ve been late.</p><p><b>From: Matsunaga Ayane (11:39 a.m.)</b><br/>Omg omg amada kun are you alright? Do you need any help?</p><p><b>From: Amada Ken (11:39 a.m.)</b><br/>Your concern is flattering, hehe. I’m good doe. Gtg, ttyl!</p><p><b>From: Matsunaga Ayane (11:40 a.m.)</b><br/>Ttyl friend!!!!!</p><p> </p><p>“The Metaverse, you see,” Nanako plays with her hairpins, letting her bangs loose as they fall down to the rest of her long locks; she must be nervous, yet she is great at playing the leader for a sixteen year-old. “is… um, kind of like what everyone sees the world as. Sometimes people are there, but they’re just the worst parts of their personality. That’s why I was impressed when you seemed conscious in Mementos.”<br/>“I understand,” Ken hums, “though back in my day, Persona users were way different.” He stares outside the trains and sees the endless swarm of people waiting by the train stations; they’re almost to Yongen, and he finds Tokyo somewhat exhilarating. He does miss Port Island, though, especially when Shinji sends him a dozen pictures of it a day.<br/>Nanako seems dazzled. “In your day?”</p><p>He shifts slightly to face the three high-schoolers sitting; with his growth spurts, he is about a head taller than most people, and he almost gets tangled amongst other passengers. “Have you ever heard of Apathy Syndrome? When a person would go into a vegetative state for unknown reasons?”<br/>Maiko gasps, covering her mouth with her palm. “Oh… the people, they looked like zombies! I saw some in Tatsumi Port Island!”<br/>Ken nods; his mouth feels dry, suddenly. “The reason for that...were Shadows, similar to the ones we just fought. Something similar to Mementos, called Tartarus, was where most Shadows dwelled - and there was a squadron comprised of Gekkoukan students. They- we… were called SEES, short for Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad. We had to defeat powerful Shadows in order to cease the spread of Apathy Syndrome, and… well, to stop a demon from destroying the world.” he chuckles a little at his own foolishness - why would he tell a bunch of kids his life story? Was he that devoid of meaningful social connections? He thinks he’ll need to see a therapist, maybe, but he continues, “Hah. I must sound like a madman to you guys, hm?”</p><p>They all stare, wide-eyed, but begin to shake their heads one by one. For some reason, Amada feels the heavy feeling in his chest disappear - and he hadn’t even felt it.</p><p>“I… I saw those people, Amada-san. To think that would be a deed of Shadows’... it makes perfect sense.”<br/>Nanako nods, patting Oohashi on the head. “Yes, I also believe something supernatural transpired in my hometown of Inaba when I was a kid. There’s no way those fog-related murders were solved without a bizarre intervention…”<br/>Oda stays a tad silent, but his lips are graced with a smirk. “Hey, let’s just say I had some connection to the Metaverse for a while, too.”</p><p>And before anyone inquires, a voice chimes in. <em> This is Yongen-Jaya. This is Yongen-Jaya. The next station is Futako-Tamagawa. </em></p><p> </p><p>Cafe Leblanc is a family business, as far as Ken knows. Founded by Sojiro Sakura, it is now run by him along with his two adopted children he is acquainted with: Futaba and Akira. Both are by the counter today, seeing as how it’s the weekend - Akira’s glasses are steamed from the siphons’ heat, and Futaba has her hair up as she plays something on her Nintendo Switch.</p><p>“Futaba-san, whatcha playin’?” Ken opens the door quietly, the three teenagers looming over his shoulder. It seems they were as socially inept as teens go. “Hello, Akira-kun; Sakura-san.”<br/>The raven-haired man bows to him, a perfect 15-degree <em> eshaku </em>; Sakura simply nods, and Futaba seems too absorbed in her game to notice their arrival. “These over here are my friends. Please, treat them well.”</p><p>“Project Diva Megamix,” the redhead replies, eyes glued to the screen yet. “That's’ what I’m playing.”<br/>Dojima’s eyes sparkle. “Ooooh, I love Hatsune Miku!”</p><p>“Akira-niisan,” Shinya bounces on his soles and rushes towards Akira to fistbump him, “long time no see! How’s life been?”<br/>“Well, I graduated, for one,” he chuckles, “Ken-kun, why don’t you and your kids take a seat? We’ll make ya some coffee and curry to knock your socks off.”<br/>“They’re not my kids, for one! And stop talking like a geezer.”</p><p>As he sits down, Maiko plops down next to him. “What do you mean, we’re not your kids? You knew Kotomin and we’re both Iwatodai City people, so I am now officially your kid! My mom sucks anyway!”<br/>Ken exhales. Just what did he get into? According to the teens’ explanations, he got sucked into Mementos because he was in their vicinity when they entered. But is it really that easy?</p><p>“Amada-san,” Nanako speaks up a couple minutes later; she sips coffee really slowly and from the rim of her mug. Ken thinks he used to do so, too, in high school; college had taught him how to crave caffeine in a quicker way, through takeout shitty canned coffee and energy drinks. “One thing that doesn’t seem fine with me is that… ahem… you mentioned the Apathy Syndrome cases, right? But if you were involved… that was, what, ten years ago? You seem so young now.”<br/>“Yeah. I joined when I was ten.”</p><p>Shinya chokes on his soda, coughing profusely, while Maiko splutters on her sweetened latte. “You awakened y-”<br/><em> “Hush.” </em>  <br/>“Okay,” she lowered her voice, “you awakened your Persona at the age of ten?! In elementary school?”</p><p>“That’s right,” the young man sips black coffee like it’s just another day for him, “I mean, I was essentially adopted by two other Persona users. Oh, also, we have a dog. Who also has a Persona.”<br/>Poor Shinya looks almost blue now as Maiko slaps him on the back to help out. Dojima, instead, stares at him with a confused look. “What? Is it that uncommon?”<br/>“I guess so,” Nanako swings her legs, “Shinya, are you better yet?”<br/>“Yep,” he somehow speaks.</p><p>With an amused gaze, Ken rambles on. “So, do you guys have a plan or something in mind? Perhaps a purpose for your little Metaverse friend group to exist?”<br/>It’s so quiet anyone could almost hear the cicadas outside, or hear the coffee shop owners breathe right before Nanako replies. “Well… so far, we have been trying to help desperate people out of their situations. Like, if someone has issues, we fight their Shadow self to redeem them.”</p><p>Ken simply nods, but Shinya disrupts the conversation. “Ooh, ooh! I know, we should be like the Phantom Thieves,” he makes an awkward pose that Amada only guesses to be a manga reference of sorts, “and we should call ourselves… The Second Coming of Phantom Thieves!”<br/>Maiko adds on: “Phantom Thieves Two: Electric Boogaloo.”<br/>Out of the blue, Akira comes out of the kitchen with four plates of curry, somehow handling all of them with perfect grace. And upon setting the dishes down, he smiles courtly; whispers, gently and wind-like:</p><p>“If you call yourselves the new Phantom Thieves, make sure to bring along an original one with you.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i thought of this when i was delirious and had  afever i apologize.<br/>persona etymologies:</p><p>  yemelyan (source: historical figures) - named after yemelyan pugachev, a cossack fugitive who impersonated peter the iii. after he was found out by the russian empire, his fellow cossacks from yaitsk town (currently uralsk) upstaged a rebellion for him. you'll see why thats shinyas persona!<br/>kore (pronounced corey) - greek for "maiden," an epithet of persephone's. i believe yall know who that is and big thanks to akeshu discord for recommending i use this as nanakos persona!<br/>astraea (source: religious figures) - the goddess of innocence</p><p>i stayed up writing this il 4 am<br/>feed me on twt @mugemugemoo</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>please feed me on twt @mugemugemoo</p></blockquote></div></div>
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